“Approach each customer with the idea of helping him or her to solve a problem or achieve a goal, not of selling a product or service.”
– Brian Tracy
Selling in the 21st century is about relationship. The third law in “The 25 Unbreakable Laws of Sales”, rightly states: ‘‘The more you connect, the more you sell.’’ This assertion is true, and it doesn’t matter whether you are selling online or offline. When you fully understand the concept of connecting with your target market before selling to them, then selling becomes the easiest thing in the world.
Sell differently
Today’s sales environment is more strategic and exact. It is tough too! The post COVID-19 marketplace has created buyers who will buy needs more than wants. So, salesmen who will play in this marketplace must be equipped with the right knowledge and strategy.
Many salesmen may fail in the marketplace because of what I call “sales mentality”. Sales mentality is the wrong attitude of “push, push and push!”
Successful salespeople are not in a hurry to sell; rather they follow the professional sales process that takes the journey towards developing a mutually beneficial business relationship. Successful salespeople are strategically patient. If you sell hurriedly without discovering your target market – without discovering how, where and when to sell to buyers – you lose the real essence of selling, which lies in building a robust relationship and delivering value.
Customers and prospects may dodge salesmen who talk only about selling the next product, without caring about how they feel and how their businesses are doing. Take time to nurture vibrant business relationships. This is not a one-off stuff. It takes deliberate actions to achieve this status.
Sales mentality is not smart enough
Experience has taught me that buyers are often apprehensive when salespeople come to them as salesmen. They see salesmen who come this way as people who have come to ‘‘target’’ their pockets.
Come like a helper because people don’t want to be sold to; they want to buy. They want an atmosphere that will create a buying situation. This ambiance is created by the salesperson when he or she takes time to explore the world of the prospect or customer before selling to him.
The salesman is like a doctor who diagnoses the sickness in a patient before prescribing drugs. Your style of selling should follow this pattern. You can’t treat the patient if you have not diagnosed the sickness. You need to discover the needs of prospects and customers before finding solutions to them. This helps the salesman to sell strategically.
When you discover the man or woman you want to sell to, you discover his or her needs; and of course you discover how to bring value to the table. This is how to create an ideal setting for selling. You have to adopt smart strategies that will make it not to be too obvious that you have come to sell. You have to move away sales mentality, which is the drive to make sales without ensuring that you have created the environment for a successful selling. Don’t be caught selling!
Selling not always about pushing
My early days in the field as a salesman taught me lots of lessons. The business environment is usually challenging and salesmen want to meet their sales targets. This was my case, as it was for other salesmen. I started my sales career as a salesman whose main purpose was just to make sales. I just wanted to meet my sales targets. I made a lot of efforts towards this objective but achieved little result because I adopted the wrong strategy.
My limitation in those early sales years was my quest to only increase figures. I continued with this sales mentality, until it got to a point where I understood that I wouldn’t make a headway if I continued that way; hence, I decided to do things differently. I decided to change my approach to sales. I decided to spend more time and energy on building trust and relationship.
That decision later became one of the best I have taken in my career. I changed my style; I spent more time with customers. I gave relevant business advice to my customers and prospects. I kept in touch with my target market. I stopped being in a hurry to sell. I stopped seeing customers and prospects as money-making machine. I changed my perception in these areas and things began to change. My performance improved tremendously.
Selling is not just about pushing forward; sometimes you push forward, and sometimes you retreat and push again. You may need to review the way you sell.
George O. Emetuche, CES, MNIMN, is a Brian Tracy endorsed bestselling author, accredited training consultant, life coach, sales and marketing expert. Please reach us today for cutting-edge training of your team. Order a set of our seven bestselling books and one audio book @ normal Total Price of N16, 500 only and get free delivery anywhere in Nigeria! Please call, 08186083133, 07060559429 or visit, www.thesellingchampionconsulting.com. Buy Books by George O. Emetuche from bookshops or malls near you. They are: 1. The Selling Champion. 2. The Art of Selling. 3. The 25 Unbreakable Laws of Sales. 4. The 11 Irrefutable Principles of Success. 5. Everything is Possible. 6. Be Inspired. 7. Succeeding With Your Spouse.
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